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Ingredients

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

200 gm caster sugar

65 gm dark muscovado sugar

½ tsp ground star anise

150 gm golden syrup

100 ml vegetable oil

80 ml (1/3 cup) beetroot juice (see note)

200 gm (1 1/3 cups) self-raising flour

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

3 gm (3 tsp) vegetable ash (see note)

To serve: whipped cultured butter (see note) and salt flakes

Liquorice stock

3 star anise

3 gm (1 piece) liquorice root

Liquorice purée

100 gm soft black liquorice, finely sliced

Method

Main

1

For liquorice stock, place ingredients and 500ml water in a saucepan, bring to the boil and continue to boil until mixture has reduced to about 150ml (10-12 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve into a container and set aside.

2

For liquorice purée, place liquorice and 75ml of water in a saucepan over very low heat and stir, adding a little more water if necessary, until liquorice dissolves (8-10 minutes). Transfer to a blender and purée until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve and set aside.

3

For liquorice bread, preheat oven to 180C. Butter an 8cm x 30cm loaf pan and line with baking paper. Place eggs, yolk, sugars and ground star anise in an electric mixer and whisk until pale. Add golden syrup, vegetable oil, liquorice purée and liquorice stock and whisk to combine. Add beetroot juice, then sift in flour, bicarbonate of soda, ash and ¼ tsp salt and continue whisking until combined. Spoon the mixture into prepared tin and bake until risen and cooked through (50 minutes to 1 hour). Cool completely in tin.

4

Remove bread from tin, trim sides, cut in half lengthways and each half into thirds crossways. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and fry each portion until slightly crisp on each side (2-3 minutes). Serve with whipped cultured butter and salt flakes.

Notes

Note You'll need to juice 1 large beetroot (about 200gm) for this recipe (or buy it from your local juice shop). Vegetable ash is available online from cheesemaking supply shops such as Cheesemaking.com.au. Yellow makes its own cultured butter, but Pepe Saya's, available from select delicatessens and specialist food stores, is an excellent substitute. Liquorice root is available from Asian grocers and online at Herbies.